Thursday, 28 July 2011

Terence McKenna - True Hallucinations

I've been doing a lot more reading recently and that included Terence McKenna's book True Hallucinations. I didn't find his writing as mesmerizing as his later speaking career though there are powerful insights into what exactly went on at La Chorrera in the Columbian Amazon. It's a tale worth exploring for the McKenna aficionado. I have an electronic copy if anybody wishes.

One passage I've displayed above stood out prominently for me as I was struck at the description for McKenna's new found talents for holding large groups transfixed with his extraordinary speaking genius. Reading the words I couldn't help but conclude that there is no better description for Terence's loquaciousness but as a channelled talent.

Usually channelling relies on some sort of automatic writing but in this case it appears to have manifested as vocal ability. A poignant thought given McKenna's obsession with glossolalia and visual language. I still love most of McKenna's work and I'm pretty sure that Freddy Mercury was channelling something when he wrote the prescient lyrics to Killer Queen or that David Bowie was channelling when writing Star Man and I enjoy listening to Barbera Marciniak's channelling or reading Ship of Songs. If fact it's possible that all creative work or revelation is channelled so I guess there's some sort of obligation on the part of all of us to determine like a bad TV channel (FOX/SKY news for example) which TV station needs to be switched off before it poisons the mind. Now I think of it much of the population is in a trance with sporting, news and reality TV channelling distractions. I might expand on that thought later. Here's McKenna reading from True Hallucinations.

FAIR USE NOTICE

THIS SITE CONTAINS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL THE USE OF WHICH HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED BY THE COPYRIGHT OWNER. AS A JOURNALIST, I AM MAKING SUCH MATERIAL AVAILABLE IN MY EFFORTS TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF ARTISTIC, CULTURAL, HISTORIC, RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL ISSUES. I BELIEVE THIS CONSTITUTES A 'FAIR USE' OF ANY SUCH COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL AS PROVIDED FOR IN SECTION 107 OF THE US COPYRIGHT LAW.

IN ACCORDANCE WITH TITLE 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107, THE MATERIAL ON THIS SITE IS DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT PROFIT TO THOSE WHO HAVE EXPRESSED A PRIOR INTEREST IN RECEIVING THE INCLUDED INFORMATION FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL CAN BE REMOVED ON THE REQUEST OF THE OWNER.